1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and apparatus for immediate diagnosis of exudative vaginal yeast infections. In particular, this invention relates to a method and apparatus which permit diagnosis or ruling-out of vaginal yeast infections without culturing yeast, thereby permitting immediate diagnosis through fluorescence of a dyed sample of the vaginal exudate.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Vaginal yeast infections are a common problem affecting women of all ages. Vaginal anti-yeast prescriptions numbered 13 million in 1990 in the U.S. The infection results from the overgrowth of yeast which are often normally present but in much smaller numbers. The symptoms of a yeast infection include vaginal itching, discharge, soreness, irritation or burning. Since a vaginal yeast infection is strictly due to the presence of large numbers of the responsible organism, diagnosis and treatment would seem to be simple. However, other more serious vaginal infections can present a similar clinical picture which usually includes local itching, a vaginal discharge, and possibly abdominal pain and fever. For example, bacterial vaginosis, bacterial trichomoniasis, chlamydial infections, and gonorrhea can resemble yeast infections, especially to women without medical training.
Presently, over-the-counter anti-yeast medications have been approved for treating vaginal yeast infections. The availability of these medications encourages women to self-diagnose and self-treat a potentially serious medical problem, without a medical examination, based upon a hope that the problem may simply be due to yeast. Self-diagnosis without diagnostic data is dangerous, since proper treatment may be delayed or the wrong treatment may be undertaken, possibly leading to invasive infections or sterility due to pelvic inflammatory disease.
The prior art teaches confirmation of the presence of an infectious organism through the use of a variety of culture techniques. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,368,569 and 4,953,560 teach use of a swab including a culture medium. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,616,265, 4,653,510, and 4,485,824 teach a variety of swabs and culture mediums for simplification of transferring a vaginal secretion to a culture medium. All of these techniques require that the yeast be cultured, a technique that requires incubation of the yeast for 12 to 24 hours under aseptic conditions with complex agar media by medical personnel. Therefore, none of these devices provide an immediate method for diagnosis of the presence of the high number of yeast associated with a vaginal yeast infection, and none of them are applicable to a test which may be used at home by persons who are not medically trained.